The German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp is navigating a complex and urgent restructuring, with its share price reflecting the high-stakes balancing act. While the stock attempted a technical breakout to close at EUR 8.50 on Wednesday, it has since retreated to EUR 8.26, leaving the overarching downtrend firmly intact. The shares remain down roughly 12 percent since the start of the year, a muted response to corporate moves overshadowed by deep-seated challenges.
A central pillar of the group’s transformation, the partial sale of its steel division to India’s Jindal Steel International, is now on shaky ground. Negotiations have stalled since the non-binding offer was tabled in September 2025, with disputes over energy cost valuations, site guarantees, and future investment commitments creating major roadblocks. Should the deal collapse, Thyssenkrupp would be forced to shoulder the massive costs of restructuring its steel business entirely on its own.
CEO Miguel López is already preparing a drastic contingency plan. Regardless of the outcome with Jindal, the company intends to cut or outsource up to 11,000 of the 26,000 jobs in the steel unit in the coming years. This push comes as the European steel sector faces an existential threat from a flood of Asian imports. In the niche market for grain-oriented electrical steel, crucial for power grid expansion, imports have tripled since 2022, with prices often below European production costs. Asian suppliers now control over half of the European market volume.
In response, Thyssenkrupp has throttled production at its sites in Gelsenkirchen and Isbergues, France, putting approximately 1,200 jobs at risk. A plea to the European Commission for protective measures was issued in early April, but new EU rules are not expected before July 2026—too late to prevent a planned four-month production halt in France starting in June.
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Simultaneously, the group’s green energy ambitions have hit a snag. Its hydrogen subsidiary, Nucera, has issued a profit warning, forecasting an operating loss between EUR 30 million and EUR 80 million for the current year. Unplanned retrofit costs for delivered modules and a cancelled US contract are to blame. Demand from the chemical industry, a primary customer for electrolysis technology, is also waning due to rising CO₂ levies and high precursor prices.
Amid these headwinds, other divisions provide a measure of stability. The naval arm, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), enters the year with an order backlog of EUR 18.7 billion and is now the sole remaining bidder for the EUR 26.2 billion F127 frigate program. Portfolio streamlining continues, with the Automation Engineering unit sold to the Agile Robots Group in early April.
Attention is also turning to the remaining 16.2 percent stake in elevator maker TK Elevator. A potential IPO or direct sale in the second half of 2026 could unlock significant value. Operationally, the group’s adjusted operating profit rose to EUR 211 million in the first quarter despite a 10 percent drop in sales, allowing management to confirm its full-year outlook.
All eyes are now on the next interim report due on May 12, 2026. Investors will demand concrete updates on both the hoped-for European trade protections for electrical steel and the fate of the pivotal negotiations with Jindal Steel. For Thyssenkrupp’s equity, the path to overcoming key technical resistance at the 200-day line near EUR 9.95 remains steep, contingent on resolving these fundamental pressures.
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